The Art of Dealing with Curveballs

Heather has a Bachelor's Degree in English from Moravian College and has been freelance writing for more than 12 years.

Woke up with a stinging sense of momentary clarity

Realized that the past few months have been not really living fully

Stuck in a glass bubble itching to get out and experience life

Too afraid to feel any of the raw emotions burning inside

Buried under mounds of deep tissue and repression

Didn't want to face the reality of a plan not coming to fruition

Falling flat face first into a pile of dirt on the pitcher's mound

Tripped over an untied lace while walking towards it

Embarrassed to look at the crowd of laughing onlookers

As slowly starting to regain composure that never came about

Threw the first pitch in the worst place possible and ran away

Off the field and back into obscurity from the trauma

Ashamed that trust and blind faith was put towards wrong goal

Should've focused on what was important and attainable

Not what was an impossible feat to begin with

Partnering up with a player who had no business of doing so

Made contact invalid before and after it was signed

Suddenly, a free agent again and it was a combination of feelings

Exciting and frustrating to be starting over from scratch

Searching for a place to lay a proper foundation of a future on

Will be a lot more careful the next time around

Won't settle for anything less than decent standards

No health or moral code violations for miles

No arrests and no whammies to speak of

Seemed like a small task, but it could prove to be difficult

People can cover up many truths to make themselves look better

Certain facts and manipulations can help promote them to you

Always play Devil's advocate when finding a partner

Sift through their positive and negative attributes before signing

Any dotted lines this times, because some contracts harder to break

Next time around due to fancier wording and skillful hustlers

Working on becoming less cynical for future partners

Harder to do once you've been burned at the metaphorical stake

Okay, it might be over the top to be so skeptical of people

Focusing on the negative instead of the positive

Seems melodramatic and unappreciative of what been given

Dwelling on the negative aspects of a faulty foundation

Not paying attention to the minor pluses wrapped in masking tape

Placed on the quaking knees to prevent them from falling

A surefire recipe for disaster if not attended to right away

Proper protection and also a little flexibility to be happy

Only being cautious enough to watch for warning signs

Relaxed in order to gather new memories and stories to tell

That's all anyone can ask for in life: adventure good and bad.

Comments

BRENDA ARLEDGE from Washington Court House on December 16, 2019:

Life does throw curve bowls when one least expects them.

Its hard to put yourself back out there. One step at a time and if you realize you are not quite ready run for shelter back to your safe place.

Nice write.